Centrum voor immuunziekten nieuws
Centrum voor immuunziekten nieuws
Patricia Bruijning-Verhagen appointed professor of vaccination and infection control epidemiology
Utrecht University and UMC Utrecht have announced the appointment of Patricia Bruijning-Verhagen as professor of vaccination and infection control epidemiology, effective June 1, 2024. This position will enable Patricia to continue her work in designing and evaluating optimal infection prevention policies through vaccination and other innovative strategies. Her appointment comes at a crucial time, as the world faces the dual challenge of emerging infectious diseases and an expanding portfolio of vaccines.
Read moreStudy of new treatment for severe influenza pneumonia
Van elke vijf patiënten die met ernstige longontsteking door influenza op de intensive care (IC) worden opgenomen, overlijdt er gemiddeld één. Om dit relatief hoge risico op overlijden te verlagen, gaan Nederlandse onderzoekers onder leiding van UMC Utrecht geneesmiddelen die eerder succesvol waren bij de behandeling van patiënten met ernstige Covid-19 op de IC terecht kwamen, nu ook onderzoeken bij IC-patiënten met ernstige longontsteking door influenza. ZonMw heeft voor deze studie een subsidie van ruim € 2.1 miljoen beschikbaar gesteld.
Read moreHow to repair a damaged heart: key mechanism behind heart regeneration in zebrafish revealed
Cardiovascular diseases, such as heart attacks, are a leading cause of death worldwide resulting from a limited self-healing power of the heart. Unlike humans, zebrafish have the remarkable capacity to recover from cardiac damage. Researchers from the group of Jeroen Bakkers (Hubrecht Institute/ UMC Utrecht) have used the zebrafish to shed light on their regenerative success. They discovered a new mechanism that functions as a switch to push the heart muscle cells to mature in the regeneration process. Importantly, this mechanism was evolutionary conserved as it had a very similar effect on mouse and human heart muscle cells. The results of the study, published in Science on May 18th, show that examining the natural heart regeneration process in zebrafish and applying these discoveries to human heart muscle cells could contribute to the development of new therapies against cardiovascular diseases.
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